C y a b n a B ve a l r T TM
BARCELONA
Jelena Aloskina / Shutterstock.com ©
A TRAVEL GUIDE MADE FOR PARENTS By Celine and Dan Brewer 1
OTHER BABY CAN TRAVEL EBOOKS Baby Can Travel: Paris
Baby Can Travel: London
Baby Can Travel: New York City
Baby Can Travel: Anywhere
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PLANNING YOUR TRIP
漏 Casa Batll贸, 2014 7
BARCELONA IS A GREAT CHOICE One of the great things about travelling with an infant is that you can pick the destination based on what you want to see and do. Your baby will not have an opinion about seeing the Empire State Building vs. the Eiffel Tower - they just want to be with you! That said, there are still important things to consider for your infant when picking your destination:
þ The weather in spring and fall is warm, but not too hot. Summer may be off-limits though. þ It has a great public transportation system. þ It is a very walkable, stroller friendly city. þ Barcelona is baby & breastfeeding friendly. þ There are enough world-class attractions to fill a week or two of your time.
þ Is it safe? There are still a few potential downsides to consider: þ Does it have access to good health care? ► Petty theft can be troublesome (pickpockets, etc.). þ Is the weather appropriate for your baby's health ► Local meal times may not coincide with (e.g., not too hot or too cold to be outside)? nap/bedtimes for older babies. þ Does it have good transportation options? þ Is it a walkable city? Can you push a stroller on most of the city streets? þ If your baby is breastfed, does the local culture accept breastfeeding? Fortunately, Barcelona is a great choice as a destination for travelling with a baby! þ Barcelona is a safe city. þ They have a good first world health care system. Be aware of your coverage or lack thereof before you leave home. 8
PREDICTING YOUR BABY’S NEEDS The first step in planning your trip is to think about the needs of all the travellers - including both the baby and the parents. Having a solid idea of each of your needs will help you make thoughtful decisions about your trip.
change from the time you book your trip. Will they be eating solid food? How long will they nap each day? Will they be crawling? The table below provides guidance on what your child may be like at the age of travel. Every baby develops at their own pace, so treat these as guidelines only.
It is fascinating to watch infants grow; their skills and personalities change so rapidly. For these reasons, you need to spend a bit of time anticipating what your child will be like on the date you travel, as they will certainly
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By considering what your child may be like at the proposed time of your trip, you can plan accordingly. The key elements to consider are sleeping and feeding:
When planning your trip, factor this time into your sightseeing aspirations. How will you feed them? What will you feed them? Where will you feed them? And how long will this all take?
Amount & location of sleep Your baby's need for sleep will be one of the biggest factors in how much time you will have sightseeing at your destination. Very young babies tend to have the most naps, but are generally able to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. As they become older, they become more aware of the world around them and may have more difficulty falling asleep on-the-go, especially if your destination is very stimulating. As they get even older, their need for multiple naps dwindles and becomes less of a factor in your daily planning. Feeding method Very young babies are easy to travel with - you can feed them on-the-go either by breastfeeding or by bottle. As your child transitions to solid food, feeding them takes up more of your day. The months after they start eating solids are especially slow going as they are just learning to eat - they play with their food, eat half, rub the other half in their hair, clothes, the carpet, etc. As they get more skilled at eating, the time it takes generally decreases and will become less of a factor in your daily planning.
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Generically speaking, the most challenging age to travel with an infant is between 6 - 11 months. They typically need two naps per day and may have difficulty sleeping on-the-go due to the exciting world around them. Their newfound appreciation for, but lack of skills to eat solid food may also slow you down.
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HOW DOES BARCELONA FIT? Barcelona is a world-class tourist destination. When planning to take your infant there, you need to factor in two main things: ► It is very easy to get around Barcelona, but it is big and takes time to get places. It takes 15-20 minutes to walk from Plaça de Catalunya to the waterfront via La Rambla. A typical subway ride from Plaça de Catalunya to Park Güell will take approximately 25‐30 minutes each way. ► Barcelona is a busy city filled with interesting sights and hoards of people and as a result can be very stimulating for your baby. If your baby is just starting to become aware of the world around them, taking them from their comfortable home to Barcelona, you are at risk of over stimulating them. Despite some of the potential challenges you may face, you can take a baby of any age to Barcelona and have a wonderful time. Just start with a clear set of expectations to avoid being frustrated during your trip.
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OUR EXPERIENCE Our daughter was three months old when we brought her to Barcelona. Before leaving for Barcelona she was sleeping around 12 hours per night and was taking four naps per day (around three hours total in duration). She was exclusively breastfed at this time. We started our trip with the assumption that we would have her in her stroller or baby wrap and she would nap as needed while we went sightseeing. We were fairly accurate with our assumption, but we found that it worked better for her to go back to the hotel in the mid-afternoon so she could have one decent nap each day in an environment where it was comfortable and quiet. Being exclusively breastfed made it very easy for us on the food strategy. All we needed to do was find a suitable location to feed her and 15-20 minutes later we were back on our way. We found that travelling with a three month old was a reasonably easy proposition. She was pretty content, slept easily on-the-go and it was easy to figure out where her food was coming from. It's a great age to take your baby on their first trip! 12
漏 Fundaci贸 Catalunya-La Pedrera
BARCELONA ATTRACTIONS: OUR ITINERARY 90
LA RAMBLA “Once on La Rambla you instantly get a feel for why it is so popular…”
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La Rambla is a 1.2km/0.8 miles long street which divides the Gothic Quarter (to the east) and El Ravel (to the west) and is the most popular pedestrian street in all of Barcelona.
STROLLER ACCESSIBILITY La Rambla is a wide, flat pedestrian street. Aside from the crowds, you will have no issues whatsoever with bringing your stroller.
EASE OF GETTING THERE Walking The north end of the street begins in the southwest corner of Plaça de Catalunya and is easily accessible from anywhere in the touristy areas of Barcelona. Subway There are multiple subway stops along the length of the street: ► North end: Catalunya on the L1 line (stops near Plaça de Catalunya). ► Center: Liceu on the L3 line. ► South end: Drassanes on the L3 line. Ho Ho The north end of La Rambla begins at Plaça de Catalunya. Every Ho Ho bus from either company stops in this popular plaza. 125
EATING NEARBY Given the popularity of this pedestrian street, there are numerous restaurants on the street. While you are in the area, why not try some tapas at the Mercat de la Boqueria?
PLACES TO BREASTFEED As La Rambla is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Barcelona, you will find very little privacy here. There is a little park called Jardins del Dr. Fleming on the street called Carrer del Carme about one block west of the Mercat de la Boqueria that is an ideal place to breastfeed. There are several park benches in this park, some of which offer a decent amount of privacy.
OTHER INFORMATION
INTERESTING FOR INFANT
Time & Money Savers This attraction is free.
La Rambla offers plenty of stimulation for developing babies. There are many great smells wafting from restaurants and many animated vendors trying to attract you to their stalls.
Nearby Attractions Mercat de la Boqueria, L'Aquàrium, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona and Museu Marı́tim.
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OUR EXPERIENCE Our well located hotel was not far from Plaça de Catalunya, which is where you find the north end of La Rambla. With this convenient location we were able to easily walk to the start of La Rambla. Once on La Rambla you instantly get a feel for why it is so popular; it is a wide, tree lined pedestrian street with beautiful historic buildings on each side. Plenty of restaurants and street vendors will tempt you along the way. Turisme de Bar / e g at m 'I d ai sp E : er h p Photogra
For this day we brought both the stroller and the wrap for our daughter. She loves people watching, so we had her in the wrap as we walked down La Rambla. The street is so busy that we had to be careful not to run into someone with our stroller.
IPdown when you are just north of the Liceu TLook subway station - there is a tiled mosaic on the street by renowned Barcelona artist Joan Miró.
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